On 25/11/2015 17:18, BartC wrote:
On 25/11/2015 15:13, Ned Batchelder wrote:
On Wednesday, November 25, 2015 at 8:20:59 AM UTC-5, BartC wrote:
Accept that some things /are/ a source of confusion. When, in writing
documentation, I find something hard to explain something, then I try
and make it simpler in the program. But not enough of that goes on: it
seems to be more lucrative to write thicker user manuals, and provide
longer training courses, than to make software simpler.
You seem to be insinuating that someone has made Python unusually complex
for personal gain? I'm not sure what to do with that: it's an absurd
claim.
Actually I was thinking of certain Microsoft products. But I think my
point stands: the design of software could be influenced more by the
documentation. In the case of languages, that's perhaps harder because
languages tend to evolve, and they usually have to be backwards compatible.
"Why does the loop run forever?"
The coin doesn't magically toss itself, no matter how intuitively
obvious it
is that it should.
The concept of variables doesn't take long to learn in an 'ordinary'
language.
There is a natural tension between making a language simple enough that
it has no surprises or difficult parts; and making a language rich
enough that it can be used for building serious systems.
Well, with Python I get the impression it's gone too far. Too many
things are dynamic for the sake of it, and people are perhaps tempted to
make too much use of that.
Although I do find Python's design interesting, from a language design
and implementation point of view. It looks deceptively simple...
> I know you have languages of your own, and that you like the way they
> work better. We have no way of evaluating their power or simplicity,
> since they are not available to us.
My language, while simpler, has its own problems. And I don't want to
get into support (I've done that in the past with other languages).
So at present, I'd probably still recommend Python, although there is
also the similar Ruby and the smaller language Lua. There a few others
but I haven't tried them.
> We have no way of evaluating their power or simplicity,
> since they are not available to us.
I'll see if I can rustle up a comparison so that Python users can see
what they're missing!
Can you please let us know what you're taking, what it costs and where
we can get it, as we would also like to live in cloud cuckoo land,
provided that The Price Is Right™.
Although credit where credit is due, you are one of the most successful
trolls to con this list in years. I must offer my congratulations.
--
My fellow Pythonistas, ask not what our language can do for you, ask
what you can do for our language.
Mark Lawrence
--
https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
